mountain lb questioning the candidates tonight and a veteran political reporter spending years covering the legislature and the former executive editor now adjunct lecturer here advisor for the student newspaper tonight's debate will focus on issues important to rural colorado the candidates have agreed to the following rules each will have one minute to answer the questions and to respond to the opponent if necessary moderators have the option to ask the follow-up . each candidate has 30 seconds for the follow-up the timekeeper will signal with ten seconds remaining the candidate can finish the sentence but the moderator will interrupt when the time is up. each candidate has 90 seconds for a closing statement. they can have notes but no props. we have invited guest and we ask if you were in the hall you refrain from participating in the debate. you are to listen not to applaud or cheer or voice approval or disapproval. prior to the debate we solicited questions from around the state and you will hear some of those tonight. mister stapleton will be asked the first question. economic development and rural area with the front range urban core door is getting richer by the rural core doors are getting poorer. two thirds of earl counties are designated as economically distressed and eligible for incentives but taxpayer-funded incentives to attract companies to the states are focused on the front range. if elected, what new and specific steps would you take to increase incentives for companies to relocate in rural colorado and be specific. >> i am glad to pleased to be here in grand junction and plan to be back more as governor. the next governor of colorado needs to be an economic plan to put colorado first you don't just put the metro area first but all of colorado i will work with the governor's office of economic development to be sure that businesses are given that opportunity to locate here on the western slope to the eastern plains and that is why i was one of the earliest supporters of the president's economic plan with more than 120 economic bills or economic opportunities creating for the state of colorado half of those are in rural areas of colorado. this is in sharp contrast to my opponent who entered federal legislation a few months ago to repeal the tax plan to take those economic opportunities away from colorado. he represents the most extreme candidate in history. >> your one minute is up. >> thank you president foster and go mavericks. also the daily sentinel and rocky mountain pbs also the needed rain that is needed here. when we talk about a state wide economic development plan as part of the challenge to make sure no matter where you live in colorado you create opportunities. we have a plan for rural broadband and connectivity to have independent employment not just high skilled jobs but also high school degrees in entrepreneurs and architects to work in those communities in -- in those communities we love. it's about protecting the industries by protecting public lands we are in western colorado to make sure that every child has access to the educational opportunity to prepare them for success whether for your college or two years or the apprenticeship. >> a follow up. i heard you both talk about broad generalities but i haven't heard you say what initiative you would envision specifically to bring economic development to rural areas. >> one of the things i would focus on is the jordan project which is a program to bring enough natural gas into the -- from the basin to power california for the next 50 years in the project that has the support of governor hickenlooper and those senators that he has refusing to support this project it would be transformational and this is another example why he is extreme not mainstream. >> i will not use the project in oregon not to have a western colorado strategy there may be a few more jobs here but that is not an excuse not to act now. i have done a number of startups. i cofounded a boot camp to help veterans get bills to start jobs but also in a co working space here in grand junction also capital formation and the mentor ships to help companies start right here in rural colorado. >> everyone in colorado needs water. it is a bipartisan issue in the state. the current state water plan calls for more than $100 million in spending just for storage and conservation. the plan is meant to balance the need of farmers and ranchers in western colorado with urban growth on the front range. how do you go about to pay for that and please be specific. >> the estate took care of this with a step forward with governor hickenlooper efforts to put our very first water plant. as a matter of principle, representing the western slope communities, i will oppose any transmountain diversion and i support water storage as an overall solution from conservation was suburban and -- conservation, both best practices and suburban and urban areas as well as those incentives to profit from conserving water. we all need to work together to fund the money we need to ensure we have the water infrastructure not just where our state is today but in ten years and 20 years not just the agricultural heritage but family farmers and the growing metropolitan areas. >> the water future is the -- colorado's water future is the life light that all of us want to have. we need to put our water plans first. i fully support funding the colorado water plant. i will prioritize it as a budget item that we will absolutely focus on during my time as governor. this is another issue where i have vast differences with congressman collis. i went to the water congress in vail and expressed my desire to find more storage. he said he wanted to look at alternatives to storage. i'm not sure i am eager to hear what those are. i also recognize the contributions of the largest provider of water conservation efforts in the past history for fracking with that revenue source to put that in jeopardy that is a water plant that the governor himself is called radical. >> next question. the displacement of water from rural areas to urban areas has been going on for years because of rapid growth on the front range without consideration for water resources. farmers and ranchers cannot continue to operate i selling water rights to others, including citizens in the front range. we see stretches of some iraqis were this dry and bicycle -- dry cycle. how would you do that? i have worked for a lot of farmers in the colorado farm bureau decided to endorse me to bring $40 billion of economic development annually to provide 170,000 jobs. we need to harness the power of technology when it comes to water storage. i don't want to do what congressman polis want to do run the industry out of colorado to cost us 230,000 collective jobs and $32 billion of economic and that's economic impact. he chose a couple years ago to bankroll the setback of 2000 feet against the energy industry . the governor had to plead with him not to do that. that is why he called it radical. view cannot have a water future in colorado without a collaborative industry that puts coloradans first. >> you will hear the words radical a lot from walker stapleton. that is political rhetoric. when i am focused on his bipartisan solving. water is not a democratic or republican issue. energy is not. hard to rely on severance packages overtime. it is an important funding source. i strongly oppose 112, and a want to make sure we have a thriving energy industry. i also want to make sure we have a diverse economy western colorado. water is incredibly important and i want to address the question. it is great for farmers to have --ernatives, like atm's, like etm's. there is more water efficiency at the same time with alternative crops and new technology and some are looking right here. >> as a follow-up so if you stop that practice what would you do? >> again, it's up to individual farmers. will i for his farmers not to sell their water? of course not. i want alternative vicars -- vehicles. this use or lose it concept creates a perverse incentive for farmers to actually is more water, even if it doesn't increase their overall crop efficiency. i think we can support family farmers better by creating new financing methods and farmers are rewarded for best practices. help the the ways you water in colorado is to support bipartisan rotter projects like the northern integrated supply project, which is the most important water project in northern colorado. it has bipartisan support. it has had a 10-year environmental review. and congressman policy steadfastly refuses to support it. i don't know why. it is another example of you being out of the mainstream, not putting colorado's interest first and putting washington's interests first. >> we talked about the jordan -- jordan cove project, to export liquefied gas from oregon to the asian markets. that would bring big money and a lot of money into colorado and other parts of the country. it would increase pressure to drill in western colorado. throw brownouts due support the jordan cove project, including increased water use issues? that would be one more element of local impact. do you support this increased drilling? if you do, how should it be managed? >> i absolutely support this project. this project will be transformational for western colorado. it is why we have a great bipartisan leadership team. we have enough natural gas reserves to power the state of california for the next 50 years. it's why four national gas companies have signed up for this project. i have met with leaders in asia and the demand is there but this will raise all boats economically in colorado. congressman polis issues are pretty radical as governor developer has said. they are out of the mainstream of his party and will not put western colorado values first. i hope he will change his mind tonight. but he has steadfastly refused even though it has been studied and greenlighted by the federal government. is -- if it is out of the mainstream, i have the most moderate voting record from all three democrats in colorado. if you never vote for one you might not vote for me but if you want one with a business background creating hundreds of jobs, other start companies, helping colorado work for everybody i'm your candidate. this is where the integrated supply project. my role as a congressman and as a governor it will be that it benefits colorado not just oregon. i want to make sure those were created in colorado it is shortsighted to give away your negotiating leverage as a cheerleader when you can help mold the project to make sure we don't have work crews coming in from other states, that we employ coloradans. most importantly, this cannot be seen as an excuse not to have a western economic developer and strategy. i have one and we will make western colorado work for you. >> follow up. talk about local impact as one element. neither of you have address that . what measures would you support that local communities have a voice in this development? >> i have been very outspoken to make sure those decisions have local inputs we shape them on the ground. there is a big difference between walker stapleton and i. i oppose amendment 74 to put huge liabilities on cities and counties just for doing their work of integrating their communities. i would work to formalize the degree of local control and those perimeters around extraction and industrialized activities. there is no local control today. but a lot of it exist in a gray area. >> your time is up mister polis. mr. tickles and -- mr. stapleton, the initiative to get local communities a voice. >> you are darn right we have a voice. i supported every energy policy that every governor has supported collaboratively in a bipartisan way. western colorado is in awesome example of outdoor industry working with energy to bring projects to colorado we achieved more work putting colorado first . he believes in battling the industry and taking away a statewide policy. >> thank you, mr. stapleton. >> you have said you went all -- you want all power from the state grid to come from renewable energy sources by 2040, with no oil or gas sources. what would each of you do to set aside the rhetoric and the politics to take specific steps to set reasonable and realistic goals for renewable energy in colorado? and how would you reach across the aisle -- please focus on this point -- how would you reach across the aisle to accomplish it? >> i am the only candidate in this race with an all the above energy policy. i support all forms of energy. , queen, solar, natural gas, oil. and i also support clean coal technology. when i was born, fossil fuels represented 83% of energy today, theyrea represent 83% of energy production. if you talk to the experts, they will tell you once you get to 65 or 70% renewables, it is a lot -- then it becomes the law diminishing returns. capital investment cannot compensate for the fact that the sun does not shine and the wind does not blow. i am not for mandates that punishment polis is that would cost $45 billion and tax people more for heating the homes in winter and turning on the lights. i think walker has misrepresented my plans more than he has talked about his own. first of all, i have never supported a net -- a 100% mandate. we will reach across the aisle. toponsored a bill nationally cite renewableto energy projects on public land. let's make it easier to expedite the losses is. -- the processes. have make sure that people home solar and are compensated for putting it back on the grid and enable people to invest industry written sources. work with the public utilities commission to move to a 100% energy future that will reduce a race today for all consumers. excel energy will tell you that it costs 20% less to build new wind energy than even the cost of existing call right now. -- coal right now. the question was how would andreach across the aisle make a policy that can be accepted by everybody? >> again, i have. . sponsored a bill nationally i have a plan in the state to partner. i supported a bill with one of senators.onservative that is one aspect of my plan. we have about 10 more to go. bipartisan. will be it involves cutting red tape, reducing costs, and he can sure we can invest in renewable energy projects and provide cheaper, cleaner, green energy. it leads to cleaner air and doing our part on climate. congressionallast session, you voted with nancy pelosi 94% of the time. i think colorado deserves and needs a governor that is more than 6% bipartisan. i support an energy policy that governor hickenlooper and governor ritter supported. i supported governor he can looper that a 1000 foot setback would cause the energy industry and you renewable plan will cost refi million dollars. billion --is $30 will cost $45 million. our budget is $30 million. >> increased funding for education is often pitted against the need for education -- transportation. the proposed amendment 73 with more than $1.5 billion annually to support programs for education. do you support it and why? >> i do not support it because it is a progressive tax. as the father of three school-age kids and i want to make sure every dollar we ask coloradans to invest in education winds up in the classroom where it belongs. now.is not happening right $.20 on the dollars being siphoned off by school districts . our school across districts, you find that the number of students has grown by about 6% since 2011. the number of teachers by about 8%, and the administrative costs have grown by 35%. until we get that problem under control, till we get the transparency and accountability, we all deserve as parents and investors in her future education system. we should just go to the ballot and ask taxpayers for a tax increase. it is wrong and misguided. . fund our way to obligations for education in the future because he will bankrupt colorado's economy. i not only created businesses and hundreds of jobs, i started with these -- as the superintendent of a successful charter school. it has now expanded into new mexico. i bring the expertise of running a school as a superintendent, but helping to write the law, the bipartisan law, the every student succeeds on to replace .he no child behind congratulations to mesa county voters for passing a levy last year that shows you value your public schools. onaven't taken a position 73. there are a few positions i have. for general fund expenditures and making sure every child in our state has access to child -- to preschool and kindergarten. oklahoma has universal preschool and kindergarten. if it ain't too radical for it's good for colorado. >> you said you want to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on preschool i can for all colorado children. talks aboutn school vouchers and charter schools us as we have enough in -- and if money for school education but we need to spend it wisely. but no one has convince the legislature to take either position. how will you reach across the and reach a compromise to break the stalemate? please be as specific as you can. early childhood education, please, and kindergarten is not a partisan issue. if you are a young family with a four-year-old or a five-year-old, you're certainly cost.he highs -- the high you can't tell me, any wealthy stela colorado, we can do it oklahoma and a number of other states do. we have a plan to pay for it with public-private partnerships . preschool and kindergarten results in lower special education rates and lower grade repetition rates. we need to get every child in our say a strong start. all we have right now is have to kindergarten. if you are very low income, we have a few preschool slots. if you're wealthy, like walker and i, we can afford these go for our kids. get to -- guess who gets behind? the middle class. pay'm so glad you mentioned for success, because it is one of the programs i worked on in a bipartisan way to get through a republican-controlled senate. one of the things i worked on during my time as treasurer is cost saving so school districts could hire private sector contractors to save money. i would love to have preschool, and i would love for preschool to be free. i have a preschool-aged daughter. but i am not just going to promise and hoodwink taxpayers with antigovernment promises i know what you pay for it. i don't think you have a way to pay for it. it doesn't make sense you would 73, except amendment for the fact that your preschool plan alone would eat up every dollar that amendment 73 spence. yes, i believe we can do better when it comes to education in colorado. and we must, for our school children in colorado. i will take a numbers base approach to solving this problem and exactly what i have done as treasurer, work with the democrats and republicans in the legislature to do something that benefits our kids without bankrupting colorado's economy at the same time. could you give us one specific example of what you would do to bridge the gap in the legislature? '>> absolutely. i just did. i worked on early childhood education with democrats in the state senate and the democratic -controlled legislature to hire private sector companies. part of the compensation was based on the cost savings that they brought to school district colorado. this has been a bargain -- a bipartisan approach. i will continue to find bipartisan ways to make sure we have more dollars in the classroom and improved student-teacher reacher -- ratio. > one good example you give us to reach across the aisle? >> i have the right and they bipartisan every student succeeds act, which replaced no child left behind. it passed overwhelmingly by democrats and republicans voting for it. chose me to be vice chair and chair of that board to represent all students in a state. i have also been a superintendent. school boards and superintendent doesn't mean they're not political, but they are not partisan. i was proud to start a successful charter school that benefited thousands of kids. >> we haven't talking about how to pay for education. . i had to pay for transportation. there are two ballot measures on this year's ballot dealing with transportation. proposition 10 would raise 706 he $7 million a year, allocating 40% of that money to local governments. proposition 109 would issue up to a $3.5 billion in bonds to fund specific projects, most on the front range and, requires the legislature to find $260 million a year to pay back those bonds for the next 20 years. which proposal would you support and wife? >> i am strongly against the 109, which walker will tell you why he supports. it creates billions of dollars .f debt for the state it will lead to reductions in our funding for education. and if the state into the recession, a could be devastating to every other budget priority we have here 110 to find aimate effort dedicated funding mechanism for our roads. it is not the one i would choose, but the voters will have the choice of whether to approve november. if both fail, i look forward to building a statewide coalition of republicans, democrats, the business community, western coloradans and rural coloradans to make sure we have a cohesive approach to meeting our infrastructure needs across our entire state. >> mr. stapleton. >> i support 190 because i think the onus of responsibility should be on say government. i know we have the dollars in the general fund. i wanted was a responsibility in the next governor's hands for finding the transportation needs that will take colorado's economy forward to the time for century without sibley reflexively bilking -- without simply reflexively looking taxpayers. approximately $.60 on the dollar will actually be spent on roads and bridges, bridges and roads. this is a difference between my plan on economic development and fixing our crumbling infrastructure and punishment policy's. coloradans need is around roads and bridges, bridges and roads. he has no way to pay for it. i do. thank you. as a fifth follow-up, mr. stapleton, you said there is money in the general fund. bonding't say if that measure passed, where would you find that unit $60 million a year to pay for it? >> i talked about three dedicated sources of revenue that i want to bring to transportation. number one, my support for the federal tax plan. we were able to appropriate 220 $59 from the general fund. amber two, i talked about $150 billion industry. we should tax it at 15%. number three -- and my out of time? >> no. now you are at a time. >> we have a broken medical marijuana system. >> you are out of time now. >> i think we can find the money. even if colorado's gaming word to produce the same revenue as nevada, it would take 600 years for that revenue to pay for the infrastructure. marijuana taxes go to capital schools.ion and if the voters want to change that, they can, but it is not nearly enough revenue for our roads here in if both initiatives fail this november, you'll need a governor that will because in her in chief -- convener in chief to unite people to make sure we solve an important colorado issue. time inend a lot of colorado talking about the north corridor.-25 what about the eez-west -- east-west 70 or 50? as governor, what would you do to strengthen transportation infrastructure? >> i was able to work with scott efforts inead the the last transportation bill that designates highway 70 west of the divide come all the way to utah, as a high priority freight corridor nationally, opening up additional funding streams. i also work to get the funding successfully for a missed fire suppression system. highway 70 is not just critical for those of us to live here. it is one of the most important economic arteries of colorado. entire communities in the high country and many jobs in grand access toepend on highway 70. i'm committed to make sure we zitthe best we have with glans and reversible lanes for high-traffic areas during peak periods and make sure that we get funding from the federal government to make sure we can make improvements we need to make highway 70 more manageable. >> mr. stapleton? >> i think it is important that colorado has a governor that recognize as and i-70 are the life blood of colorado. i believe congressman hollis's view is highway 36. highway 70 is beyond veil -- vale. one of the things that we worked analysis of what colorado spends per mile as opposed to six other -- six to states.her mountain we have found, if we can spend what the other six mountain states around us spent on maintenance and other costs per mile, we could have extra $160 million approximately that we could use for bonding. this is a creative idea that takes leadership from the governor's office instead of reflexively promising things with no way to pay for them, loading up our state with debt and antigovernment promises. he has proposed a $90 million of spending, tripling our state budget obligations and doesn't have as a way to pay for it here -- doesn't have a single way to pay for it. put anotherlature measure on next year's ballot, in 2019, to issue at the $2.6 million in bonds. that would automatically go on the ballot next year. one of you would be governor. would you support that or try to change that? >> for transportation? enough.not be that is why we need more dedicated sources of revenue. i have come up four separate ones. i will make funding transportation throughout colorado the number one priority. and finding more attainable housing. i say attainable versus affordable. what might be affordable for somebody in the mature area enough the attainable for those in western colorado. issue forbonding 2019? >> i find it ironic that walker accuses me of debt when he is the only one here supporting it valid initiative that would put the state in $3 billion more in debt without finding revenue. why 109to figure out and 110 failed. there's low hanging fruit that more traffic on 70 going eastward. people who can find to grand junction airport with improvements we need to make from california texas to visit our high country. that is a whole other corridor with great potential. >> now we will switch gears to health care. we have a specific question of each of your. -- of you. you have advocated for single-payer health care. billill taxpayers foot the for that if it costs hundreds of millions of dollars? >> as you know, i supported medical for all nationally. we already cover her most highs cost collision, our elderly. we should have a basic level of care for everybody. my goal is to save coloradans money. i started companies and created hearted's of jobs. we provided -- created hundreds of jobs. we provided health care. we have a 100-they plan to address that. withnt to model medicaid systems like arkansas, which has cost by 20% of 30%. we want to address the pricing disparities. reconfiguring the pricing's us to make sure we have close to parody -- to parity. >> i couldn't disagree more. one of the bipartisan in things i did is worked with a democratic governor to defeat amendment 69, government run health care. we worked across party lines because we understood that the associated payroll tax was going to be 10% or more on all businesses. and the cost would be at least $25 billion. and because it would result in rural area doctors and pervasive underpayment to doctors and physicians assistant. less than two years later, proposingn polis is an extreme and radical form of care. it will result in longer lines for the people that can least afford it. we already have 70% premium increase in the last three years. it is not compassionate. it is cruel and will make our problems worse in colorado. about reducing lump when 4 million people who oversee the benefits because it's taking money away from how wouldd roads good you reduce the state paid medicaid benefits without endangering the hospitals and health care providers and provide services to those who otherwise could not afford it? how can you cut these benefits and then her rural colorado? >> just to be clear, i have never said that i am for reducing the medicaid rolls by 1.4 million people. i would absolutely not support that. we have a moral obligation for medicaid. half of the medicaid population our kids, even know they only represent about it order of the cost. withld work with companies state government agencies, with regulatoryis the system for health care nonprofits, to actually do a better job of administering medicaid rollouts. fraude had issues with and abuse of people who qualify who should not qualify. the only way to fix this is have all the government agencies involved to collaborative work on the front lines to make the system better for young people, old people, sick people. i don't want to drive our medical care off a cliff. i have never said i would never support a 1.49 people taken off the medicaid rolls. walker is allowing colorado families to have affordable health care. he has mentioned bill ritter four times, a supporter of me and is campaigning for me. john hickenlooper is supporting me for governor and campaigning for me. we need to reduce costs in colorado and that depends -- and that begins with defending what we have. if the medicaid expansion were limited, not only does that nsrow off 400,000 colorada blood drives up costs for all of us for uncompensated care because of the cost shifting of providers. medicaidefend the expansion and used by the payment systems which have been proven in places like arkansas to save 20% of 3% and pass the savings along to you and save your money family on your health-care bill. >> do you support reduction of medicaid expansion? is that true? >> no. i support making the current system better. so we can improve access and affordability to the system that we have. getting a federal waiver from the federal government so that you people can have plans with higher deductibles and less premiums because they are healthy more often. what i don't support is the plan that would make access to life-saving drugs for critically all people and children i have a friend who lives here with a daughter who is shots cost $10,000 every quarter. she wouldn't be able to get access to that medication. that is not compassionate. it is cruel and will result in less quality care in colorado. >> my plan is the opposite of everything walker said. we want to take on the prescription drug companies because coloradans are tired of being ripped off on prescription drugs. your friend walker and my friends with life-saving prescription drug should be forced to pay 500 to -- 500 times as much as those in canada. >> next question. >> let's go on to immigration for a little bit. the current federal government has cut down on the temporary ands for agricultural service workers. knowing this is a federal issue, how can you have colorado's businesses get the seasonal workers they need? i am a strong supporter and worked with the agriculture havetry in making sure we a strong h2 b program. overalle, we need an fix with regard to our broken immigration system. in the meantime, we should not make small businesses, farmers come in the construction industry and others pay the price. as governor, i will make sure that i stand for all coloradans and make sure that we have an immigration policy the reflects the fact that we are in nation of immigrants and a nation of laws. the two are and must be reconciled at the federal level. as governor, i will stand up for all coloradans and that the president of either party know that we need to put colorado first and we have access to people we need to grow our economy and help coloradans not just get by, but thrive. >> we need to have a colorado that all of us want to have. we need to be welcoming to immigrants. supporty i said i dreamers. this is a federal issue that needs to be resolved. i support the h2 pieces that are so important for the agriculture industry. i also support the j one visas that allow students from cell america toom south come to colorado. i think coloradans want a governor who will work with the president when it benefits colorado and will stand up on misguided federal policies. when the federal government reduces the number of these legal foreign worker visas, it very well could force employers to seek a legal help to do the work that farmers and ranchers need to get done to stay in business. with thequattro current administration to seek out undocumented workers in rural areas for deportation? >> i will not. that is not the job of the governor. that is the job of the federal government to deal with immigration policy. i think we have a broken immigration policy that existed many times. congressman polis has been a washington for 10 years. republicans and democrats are complicit in not fixing her bridal immigration policy. i disagree with making colorado a century state. -- acentury state sanctuary state. of all, i am not for colorado being a sanctuary state. none of the democrats running for governor or for that. i am for empowering local law enforcement to keep our communities safe. i respect local control through the sheriff's office, police departments. we need to make sure, with the limited resources they have, they are able to keep a safe. that includes areas that have large immigrant communities, earning the trust of those communities so that crimes are reported and prosecuted rather than hidden because of the fear of deportation for victims. of course, we need to empower our local law enforcement officials and i will stand up to this president or any president in washington who wants to commandeer our local law enforcement to enforce their broken washington, d.c. priorities rather than our local community priorities. >> just so i understand and this is really yes or no. you would not support seeking out undocumented workers in rural areas. >> that's right. had the federal government talk about financial sanctions and sanctions against cities and agencies who don't help federal agent authorities. would you support that? >> i would support of governor's ability to end sanctuary cities in colorado so that we have a uniform policy that has the back of sheriffs. we shouldn't have somebody who commits a felony be released from jail in less than 12 hours. hen though, simental is says -- congressman polis says he agrees with me, if you felt so strongly about it, you owe it to law enforcement to have your party change its party platform. >> that's the difference between us. you may be beholden to the republican party platform. i am an independent thinker and willing to take on both i think we need to make sure we keep our communities safe. you have attacked me for supporting, opposing efforts theseould penalize decisions. of course i am against the federal government coming after legal marijuana. i'm against washington, d.c. expanding their power. i support an independent colorado. i'm willing to take on both parties. >> we are running out of time. i want to give you 30 seconds each on this. largef's hotel you percentage of jail populations annually have significant mental health issues, especially true in rural areas. what is your plan to move mentally ill persons out of jail into treatment. had you pay for it. >> a third of the intake in prison systems were people who need treatment for drug abuse or mental health issues. our prison system isn't the best or most cost-efficient way to do it. it is also not the most effective in terms of treating somebody with a mental health issue, often an offshoot of an undying poster untreated mental health issue. we want to expand access to mental health. >> how do you get them out of jail? >> last week i had to high school students in my community commit suicide. we have underfunded mental health issues in the state of colorado. i will be a governor that puts mental health first when it comes to health care. we have massively increase the department of corrections budget and have not spent money on mental health that we need to. we need to invest in rehabilitative treatment. we need to better coordinate municipal and state responses. of youuld like for each to ask a question of your opponent. it should show voters what you believe is your highest priority. go first.ton will >> i asked this question last night. you didn't answer the question. who has beennd here for 10 years. he is an immigrant from mexico. he has been working in the energy industry. he bought his first half -- house and his future is brighter you talked about colorado in which his job would not exist. you worked on anti-fracking initiative is pretty have worked at anti-pipeline initiatives. we have talked about rigging the game where his job would be obsolete. shoot him straight. how are you going to bring his job to colorado when renewable still come flooding back and you can have a colorado because you wrecked the economy and busted the budget of our state. to martin last night. i am backed by your fellow workers at the brotherhood of electrical workers. workersw i will put first and put safety first. i'm proud of governor hickenlooper's efforts to make sure our pipelines are safe and i look for to taking the next step. if you have young kids, making sure they have access to preschool and kindergarten. making sure that you have a part of colorado's future. we are one have a lot of oil and gas jobs. they depend on the price of oil and gas. my plan will make colorado more of a net energy exporter. i want to make sure you have every opportunity and advanced manufacturing to make even more money to support your family. >> with soon-to-be justice kavanaugh's approval to be on the supreme court it is more likely than ever roe v. wade will be overturned. if our state legislator passed a bill to restrict or end abortions in the state of if somebody said it would be a pro-life governor, that supported a radical personhood amendment that would ban ivf but would you sign a bill that restricted or limited the rights of women to control their own bodies in colorado. >> let me translate to your response to my question. i am supporteds by unions are you still don't have a job martín. as far as me. i would be a pro-life governor because it is a matter of my faith. i accept roe v. wade as being the law of the land. when i raise my matt -- my hand become governor i don't raise my hand to accept just some of our constitution. it is not an all a card offering. i exempt roe v. wade as the law of the land and i'm not going to speculate on whether it is overturned. the two most recent justices to this report were not going to speculate during their confirmation. i am going to enforce colorado's constitution as well. it has been embedded that we shouldn't use state taxpayer funds for abortion related services. >> thank you. candace when i have 90 seconds for closing statements. a coin toss gives mr. stapleton the opportunity to begin his final statement. for having me. i'm running for governor. my kids. olivia is four years old. i'm running for their future because i have a heart for service. the colorado i want is one that will hopefully be filled with abundant economic opportunity not just for them but all our kids in colorado. i have a demonstrated track record of working with democrats on pragmatic solutions to put coloradans first. withn achieve our goals the will to do it and the leadership from the governor's office i plan to provide. i will do it as governor. none of this will be possible if we make the mistake of electing him as our governor. he were to win, i'm sorry to be the town crier on this but somebody has to be honest about your record. you have promised $90 billion of spending that would triple our budget obligations and you haven't told anybody how you plan to pay for it. 90 billion is 90,000 million. it would bankrupt colorado and result in antigovernment processes. it is not the future i want to have for my kids are any colorado kids. >> you hear these words tossed around. extreme radical. these are fundamentally to this of words. i'm a uniter. i have worked with republicans and democrats to pass our landmark federal education legislation. i'm ready to roll up my sleeves to get things done in a bipartisan way that brings people together. i'm not for the name-calling. i may have some differences of opinion. but i value everybody's input. i was proud to sponsor a hill with kerry gardner to bring the blm here. taking on some members of my own party to do it. i'm running for governor because i believe in the future of this state. i have run schools. we have plan to end underinvestment in our schools and make sure every child has access to preschool and kindergarten. coloradans are tired of getting ripped off on health care costs. we have 100 day action plan to help save you money see you have a little more money at the end of the month to enjoy in the month. i'm running for governor because i had a background in business. want colorado to be a statewide success story. both candidates for it we appreciated your remarks tonight. i think we learned something. sentinel, ouraily colleagues and the sponsors of the debate. thank you in the audience tonight. we hope this is given your information to help you make your decision about who should be our next governor. regardless of your view we urge you to vote. it is an obligation to ensure our democratic freedoms. we invite you to check out our website and thank you for joining us tonight. good night. the final day to register to vote in 14 states. arizona, arkansas, florida, georgia, indiana, kentucky, louisiana for michigan, mississippi clout new mexico, ohio, tennessee and texas. every state has its own voter registration deadline. the deadline is passed in arizona and arkansas. the midterm elections are 28 days away. the campaign 2018 coverage continues tonight with several live debates. on c-span utah's u.s. senate debate between mitt romney and jenny wilson. to fill the seat of orrin hatch. c-span, charlie baker debates his democratic challenger j gonzalez in the massachusetts governor's race. at 10:00 eastern, the arizona second congressional district curb peterson. c-span your primary source for campaign 2018. first, bob schieffer will be .osting a discussion about promoting democracy abroad. we will have that live at 5:30 eastern time. host for carlson discusses his book ship of fools . how a selfish ruling class is bringing america to the brink of revolution. >> it is about why we elected trump. i couldn't get past the idea that the country voted for donald trump. why would you do that? i think he is right in a thematic sense.

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